the media has definetely influenced the industry as it has been once cited. they have not reported on how us as educaters have gone above and beyond to educate and employ students.
The coverage on career schools and colleges has been, in most cases, very negative. However, it is not all without cause. One bad apple spoils the whole barrel. It is just a shame that we all get lumped into the same barrel.
Media usually has a loud voice when conveying a message. A corporation could be doing all the right things but if the media gets involved it turns one flaw into an enoumous case. In the education industry since its such a sensitive topic it has greater risk to be tampered with. So despite slower economies and bigger populations its really important to hire qualified individuals to follow all regulatory rules so it won't be any negativity bleeding to the media.
The media has recently been scrutinizing the education industry's recruitment practices and finances due to incidences involving schools. As with any other "hot story" the media may slant things negatively to add sensationalism, but at the same time I think it is important for topics like these to be brought to light and discussed. The focus and attention to this topic has in turn heightened regulatory oversight on the education industry. Pressure is being put on schools to comply and I think it's a good thing. Compliance protects and benefits the students and at the end of the day, that's our goal as educators.
Regarding the influnce of the Media and Regulatory environment in Education.
An Institution can decide any marketing stratagy the it feels will be effective as long as it follows Fair Consumer Practices, it also depends on the budget.
All advertizing and promotional litature shall be accurate and not misleading to the public.
A copy of each advertisment shall be available.
If advertising violation occurs Commision shall require institute to receive prior approval for future advertising
Jeannette
The media will never provide accolades of accomplishments for school's achievements; Unless there is a football team associated with the school. The media tends to focus on the wrong attributes that a great school can provide the community.
The media has produced segments to expose of certain schools and colleges and newpaper articles have been pronted criticizing the industry as a whole with out proof of aggressive recruiting graduates for job placements and the cost of tuition.
Media has influenced both positively and negatively the regulatory environment in the education industry. Positively because it has created an awareness in the public by having easy access to laws, regulations, policies and the educational institution's compliance with these regualtions. Negatively because it can create a misconception for the sake of reporting that can turn a potential success into a nightmare. One bad apple, in the opinion of the misinformed public, can make the entire sack rotten.
I feel that the media has influenced the regulatory environment by informing the public about issues in education. I believe the issues that media have brought to the public are narrow in focus, however, regulators in education have responded to those issues by modifying rules that we abide by.
Magdali,
I think you well summarized the pros and cons of the media influence. Nice job!
Timothy,
I agree that there is more public awareness of issues as a result of media attention. Unfortunately, I think there are times when important, relevant facts are not included to ensure an objective perspective.
I think most of the time the relevant facts are not included because of ignorance. All schools, especially career schools must strive to get the facts out to the public.
Timothy,
Agreed - getting the facts out and encouraging positive news items (i.e. events, graduate success stories, etc.) is an important way to share with the public.
Traci Lee
The media has had a huge influence on education industry over the last few years. They have shone a bright spot light on the for-profit sector. The media’s intent appeared to once again call out diploma mills, which would have been fine if not all online distance education schools were then going to be scrutinized.
The university I work for is a small, online for-profit school and we want our students like most other schools to meet their educational goals. However, when the economy has a bleak outlook, the gainful employment regulation could be looked upon has a no win situation for any of the parties involved.
News organizations acted with intensive investigations utilizing research, statistics and in some cases Mystery shoppers. The investigations studied several issues such as recruiting practices, job placement statistics and tuition costs. Their work generated television programs like 60 minutes and Frontline encouraged the GAO to perform investigations of their own.
Pamela ,
I hear what you are saying - I think certain job markets are more at risk than others and I would like to see a way that the regulations could protect against bad practices while still supporting schools that fulfill training needs across all industries.
Traci Lee
In my geographic neighborhood, the media tends to be more unfriendly towards my school than anything else. This tendancy has made us much more aware of how we advertise and promote ourselves as a school that provides real, viable options for career training. In this sense the media is a catalyst for self-inspection and change at my campus.
The media has made our industry much more accountable due to their exposure of bad practices, and the resulting increased regulation for various agencies. This can really only be a good thing for the students and consumers out there. Deceptive enrollment practices do need to be exposed. It is important to remember, however, not to paint all proprietary schools with the same broad brush of ignorance.
The media does influence the regulatory environment in many ways. It influence in positive and neagtive things. We have to try to keep our students happy but there will always be some students that won't be happy no matter what we try to do for them.
The media has had a major effect on the operational processes of the education industry. Fortunately, questionable processes and procedures were exposed and new regulations were implemented to ensure that these practices did not continue. Unfortunately, The major part of the industry was in compliance and had audit procedures already in place but the media enhanced the exposure to the point that additional reviews were developed to decrease the possibility of error. The trade off is positive but the additional cost is significant.
Charles,
Well stated...it's too bad that well-run, compliant schools are also exposed to the additional regulatory pressures.
Traci Lee
